


Room for One More

by sugarsubstitute



Series: Katsuki-Nikiforov (or Adoption AU) [1]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, M/M, adoption au, family au, happy holidays, i feel like this is kind of a christmas fic as it's about family and gifts and stuff (and tears), they're in the process of adoption: yuri can come stay w/ victuuri but he can't take their name yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 00:53:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9048832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarsubstitute/pseuds/sugarsubstitute
Summary: Today's the day! They had been waiting and waiting... and waiting for this day to come. When another figure added to their equation, when the cherry was put on top of their sundae of happiness-- in other words - when Yuri finally came home to stay. They had talked about it with him, and they're sure the social worker did too: and he's also been awaiting the day he'd go to stay with them. So... why is it that when they put him in the back seat, the once boisterous 5-year-old had withered down in quietness?





	

Yuri insisted that he could haul his bag, which was the same size as him, all by himself. The lady, who had greeted them with wide smiles at the door, spoke to the two of them as Yuri had hurriedly fumbled his way up the stairs to retrieve his belongings, and according to her Yuri has had his bag packed and ready to go at a moment’s notice ever since he had gotten the news that he’d be staying with them.

“He’d ask every day when you were coming, and when we asked if he was excited he’d blush and storm off.” She giggled from behind her palm.

“Doing the little pouty face?”

She nodded. “Yes, _the_ pouty face. Honestly, he talks about you two all the time.”

“I-I’m glad to hear that.”

 

The older of the two turned from watching the friendly lady converse with his other half at the sound of him stuttering to see that his partner's hands had coiled tighter around his arm, and had burrowed his cheek further into the familiar softness of his jacket. Victor raised his eyebrow, somewhat amused at his partner’s sudden shyness, when it was him that had been hammering on about this coming moment for days. “Yuuri, don’t tell me you’re nervous _now_.”

Yuuri shot his head up, immediately shaking his head in refusal. “N-no! No, Victor, I’m just…” he trailed off, losing his track of thought. 

“Excited?” Victor teased.

Yuuri stared up at him, before tutting and turning his cheek to watch the stairs with intent. Victor let out a chuckle.

 

“To be honest,” the lady said suddenly, drawing the two’s attention back to her. “I’m so grateful to you two. I don’t think Yuri’s ever been as happy as he’s been since you’ve been visiting him.” She said, her eyes wondering to the carpeted stairs.

Victor smiled, finding himself staring upstairs too. He would be lying if he said that the feeling welling up in his chest was anything aside from pure, unadulterated excitement, like a child awaiting ice cream or a skater awaiting his scores. He couldn’t wait any longer, and they had waited for what felt like forever for the moment two became three. 

He called up, “Yuri! Are you ready?” 

 

The thumping noise that soon followed gave him the answer. Slowly, but still clearly trying to rush as much as he could, little Yuri rolled his suitcase down each individual step. He was very careful not to trip or make any mistake as to not cause the bulging case to explode out onto the floor beneath him, or barrel down the stairs if he lost his grip on the handle. It was less of a graceful union like it would be in a movie, and the steps seemed to stretch longer than it had ever done before when Yuri would hustle his way down to meet the two adults. That day was different though, and everyone felt it in the air. 

Maybe it was the fact that Yuri had a suitcase instead of his cute little backpack with his important things that he needed with him at all times (i.e. his colouring book, pencils, stuffed cat toy, and anything else Victor had spoiled him with). Perhaps it was how Yuuri’s grip grew tighter and tighter with everything bang that the suitcase made as it descended. Though, quite possibly, it could have been how Yuri’s eyes sparkled when he looked up to see Yuuri and Victor waiting for him. He made the final lug down the two steps, sighing out before looking up expectantly.

“You’ve got everything, Yuri?” Victor asked. 

Nod. 

“Do you want us to carry--”

Shake. 

“Alright then, we’re good to go.” Victor beamed, turning to the lady for the go-ahead.

She beamed equally as widely back at him. “Call us if you need anything, we’ll be happy to help.”

Yuuri nodded. “Of course.” He smiled, looking down at Yuri. “You ready to go home?”

Yuri nodded immediately, grabbing onto his suitcase again, and before Victor could start saying their goodbyes to the social worker he was off and out the door like a shot, hobbling his little feet and clattering his case down the concrete stairs.

“H-hey, Yuri, be careful!” Yuuri scrambled, chasing after the little boy to hopefully prevent him from causing any major injuries to himself. It wouldn’t be too helpful if he had been hurt not even a few minutes after being released into their care. 

Now that the situation had become hurried, which was a completely flip from the slow, impatient wait happening not even fifteen seconds ago, with their punk now raring to go, the goodbyes were rushed. “Thank you.” Victor said with a relieving sigh.

The lady smiled once more. “Take care.”

 

The ride home was full of excitement, and the pair could see Yuri buzzing in his seat. It was like the first time they took him out to an ice-rink, something he said to them afterwards he had done often with his grandfather.

The way he had slipped around on the ice back then, wobbling and unsteady in some places at first, but his skates stayed stuck like opposing magnets, unwilling to let him fall. With the two’s encouragement and support (both physically and emotionally) Yuri was literally skating rings around them; and the look of satisfaction and superiority the little 5-year-old felt he had over them that he gave them as he skated backwards in front of them, with his little nose reddened from the chill and his mouth curved into the most devilish yet endearing smirk they had ever seen on a child his age… that was when they had decided that he needed to be theirs.

Now he was, and everyone was excited. Although, despite Yuuri and Victor knowing that Yuri was thrilled by how he kicked his little legs in his booster seat, they were slightly concerned by how he hadn’t said much. Yuri was certainly not a shy boy; in fact, the opposite was true. He wasn’t afraid of sounding rude or obnoxious. If he was curious about something, he’ll ask about it, if he feels like he’s superior at something he’d let the whole room know; which was why it was strange how he wasn’t speaking to them.

Victor looked in the mirror, back at Yuri, as he drummed his fingertips on the steering-wheel. “Almost there, Yuri.” He said, to which Yuri looked up before bobbing his head up and down. He then looked away, leaning up and resting his arms by the window, watching the winter scenery pass them by in quick flashes of grey and green. Victor looked to Yuuri, who looked back. The older of them placed his chilly hand on top of his partner’s, giving a comforting smile. Everything would be fine. This relaxed the both of them, and they sat together in silence until the newly familiar neighbourhood block where they allowed the excitement to grow yet again. 

 

The car was parked, turned off, and seatbelts came undone. Yuri lingered in his seat, kicking his legs and looking down, even when Yuuri came and opened the door to the back seats.

“Yuri?”

“Huh?” Yuri blurted, raising his head at being surprised despite the fact that he should have heard the door being opened.

Yuuri leaned down so the two were at eye-level. “We’re here.” He said gently. “You ready to get settled?”

“I…” he said hesitantly before nodding.

Yuuri pursed his lips, momentarily unsure of what to say. “Is anything the matter? You can tell me if there is.” Yuuri said after seeing Yuri’s unease.

Yuri shook his head. “No.” he denied before fiddling with his belt and managing to free himself. Yuuri watched, not completely convinced as Yuri was lifted by him to the ground before he again hurriedly hassled to the boot of the car to assure that Victor wasn’t going to bring his case in for him. Yuuri decided he’d talk with Yuri again later, but for all he knew it could just be something that would dissolve as soon as everyone settled in at home. Still, to be sure, having another talk, or enlisting Victor to help him, would be best to qualm any and all problems Yuri may or may not have had. Weird, they hadn’t even stepped into the house together and he was already a worrying parent. Was that a good thing?

“Ah, Yuri! Calm yourself, you’ll trip! Wait, wait for me!” Sounded an unmistakable voice, as Yuuri looked up to see Yuri once again rushing ahead, dragging his proportionally large suitcase behind him, with Victor calling out after him and trying to catch up. He smiled to himself. Maybe he wasn’t the worrying parent after all.

 

“Your house is really big.” Yuri told them as the first person to step into the house, the suitcase rattling as he ushered in. 

“You’ve seen the inside of it before.” Victor replied breathlessly, having had to run down the longer-than-anyone-should-suffer-for driveway that could fit more than one-or-two cars, after trying to catch up to the runaway scamp in case he tripped over his suitcase and hurt himself. Yuri had been standing on his tip-toes and ringing at the doorbell, despite knowing no one was inside. Well, except Makkachin, who had started barking after the first ring and kept doing so as Victor fumbled with his keys and Yuri had kept communication with the dog inside via rapid pressing of the bell.

“I know, but your house is big.” Yuri repeated. “It’s bigger than the Home by… a lot.” He said, extending his arms to explain his measurements.

“Not a big as that, surely.” Victor said in amusement, before toeing off his shoes. “I’ll go unleash Makkachin.” 

Yuuri shut the door, haven forgotten to do it after walking in. “It’s your house too, you know.” Yuuri added on as he began to shrug off his jacket. 

He replied with a cock of the head, which Yuuri saw. Before he could question it, however, a bound of light brown fluff came bounding its way down the hall. Immediately, it latched to little Yuri, and lovingly licked coating his face. Yuri looked disgusted and offended as black eyes pierced at him, front paws on his head as the dog stood taller than him.

“ _Gross_!” Yuri grimaced, wiping at his mouth with his coat sleeve. “All in my mouth.” 

Victor laughed warmly. “He’s missed you.” He said, before Makkachin unleashed more welcomings, licking his blond head, and making his hair slick up as if it had been styled with gel. 

“Ew, ew, _ew_!” Yuri whined, Yuuri then deciding that the poor boy had suffered enough and distracted the dog by scratching his ears, leading it away from the love-attacked child. 

“Looks like he loves you, Yuri.”

“Doesn’t feel like it.” He grumbled, shaking his head and wiping his face. This earned bubbling laughter from both men, and Yuri looked up between them.

“Makkachin has his own way of showing love.” Victor explained, bending his knees to scratch at the dog’s fluffy ears, causing the furball to smack his tail against the floor and keen to the attention.

“What Victor said was true, he has missed you.” Yuuri said, lowering himself to smooth Yuri’s hair out. The boy looked to him as the man with glasses threaded his careful fingers through the child's soft blond hair.

Yuuri smiled. “Just like we’ve also missed you.”

 

Yuri’s coat and shoes were eased off, lying neatly after having been picked up by Yuuri when Yuri quickly toed them off after throwing his coat at the unsuspecting Victor, hobbling off again with Makkachin at his heels.

“And he’s off again.” Victor grinned, hanging the boy’s coat up on his peg. He looks to see Yuuri staring off to where the small boy had run off to. “ _Zolotse_ , what’s on your mind?”

“Eh? Oh… Vit’ya, I’m just…” he fumbled after having been dragged from his thoughts.

“Yuuri…”

“Does Yuri seem at all… uncharacteristic today?”

“’Uncharacteristic’? You really have gotten better at Russian.”

“Victor!” Yuuri sighed in annoyance. “Listen to what I’m _saying_.”

Victor stepped towards him, casting his hands to his lover’s waist. “I _am_.” He assured. “I’m sure he’s just getting used to his surroundings.”

“But… Yuri doesn’t usually need to do that.” Yuuri said warily.

Victor gave a reassuring squeeze to his waist. “I understand you’re nervous, I am too; but it’s not like we no experience with Yuri or his behaviour. I’m sure if he’s uncomfortable, we’ll both know for sure.” 

Yuuri still looked just as uncertain as before.

He gave a light kiss to the lost one’s forehead, raising one hand to brush the man’s fringe from his eyes. “We’ll see how he acts for the rest of the day, huh? No need to jump to conclusions when nothing’s confirmed.”

Yuuri looked up to his husband before nodding shallowly. “Yeah.” He said as if the wind was knocked out of him. He nodded again with more confidence. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s just… I’m…”

“I know.” Victor replied with another reassuring kiss, this time to the corner of his mouth. Yuuri then met him with a soft kiss on the lips, though Victor could feel the slight tremble in his movements. “ _Lyubov moya_ ,” Victor aired lightly as their lips inched apart, “why don’t we show Yuri to his room?” he suggested.

 

This suggestion must have been the right one, because as soon as the idea was put in the air, Yuuri’s warmth left him hurriedly to go and shepherd their tyke, leaving Victor with a ‘huh’ on his lips. 

“Yuri,” Yuuri said as he entered the room, finding the little boy on his usual spot on their nice cushy sofa, tapping at the tablet that he always managed to uncover no matter where the older men had tucked it out of sight. He looked up from the flashing screen, Makkachin lapping at the boy’s little knuckles as they held the tablet upright. “Shall we take your suitcase up to your room?”

Yuri’s reaction was quick, throwing the tablet beside him, hoisting himself down from the sofa and bustled past the man standing at the door with Makkachin trailing behind with a wagging tail. “Yeah!” was the bountiful reply as the five-year-old made for his suitcase.

 

Victor and Yuuri were very patient in walking up the stairs. They awaited Yuri’s step, then the drag of the suitcase up the next step, and then Yuri’s step again. Victor eyed his little feet and the suitcase very carefully, as any small slip could make the small boy hurt himself. Once again, the two couldn’t persuade Yuri to part from the responsibility of carrying his suitcase, although they couldn’t really say they didn’t expect it from the stubborn child. So, they waited, and it was fine, as Yuri’s gleeful facial expression didn’t damper at all.  
With the final step, the boy kicked off again, racing forward.

“Yuri! Do you know which room?” Victor called out, which was a valid question, as there were approximately seven rooms on this one floor which from the outer appearance all looked completely identical. 

When they caught up, the boy was standing in front of one door in particular.

A small finger pointed up at the wooden plaque, and the boy stared up at the printed letters on the surface, coloured in the unmistakable pattern of a tiger.

“Y-U-R-I” he individually called out, pointing to each letter. He turned his head with glimmering eyes to also stare up at the two men as they gazed affectionately at his expression.

“What does that spell?” Victor questioned.

The boy turned his head to the door. “Yuri.”

“That must be your room then, unless it’s yours, Yuuri?” Victor hummed teasingly.

“Only this one likes animal print that much.” Was the muttered reply, to which the man beside him had to stifle a laugh.

“It’s my room?” Yuri asked for reassurance.

“Of course, it’s your name on there, isn’t it?”

“…Yeah.” The boy replied as he reached up to twist the handle open.

 

When the door slowly swung open, Yuri immediately widened his eyes at what he beheld.

“Wow!” he yelled, springing in and spinning around as there was so much to look at. The curtains were animal print, the fluffy rug beneath his toes was animal print. Walls were painted with casual tigers prowling the room’s terrain (Yuuri wouldn’t let anything ‘too scary’ looking be painted on his Yuri’s walls, in fact what was actually on the walls was already pushing his boundaries on the matter). On the bed (which most likely also had animal print covers on it, even if Yuri couldn’t see it) piled a mountain of plushies that ranged from fluffy kittens to roaring tigers that mushed against each other in the towering mound. Now, with that kind of prime opportunity, Yuri just couldn’t hold himself back from leaping into the pile, softening his fall with the cushioning toys that tickled at his nose and cheeks with their fur. 

“Nice height.” Victor complemented as Yuri nuzzled into the plush pile. Yuuri hummed in amusement before Yuri poked his face up, gathered two arms full of the cuddly toys (which was about two plushies altogether) and rushed up to their feet.

“Look, look! I got all these toys!” Yuri glowed, his eyes flashing and sparkling like stars. 

“Wow! Would you look at that?” Victor beamed, turning to raise his eyebrow to Yuuri in victory. Right, as if spoiling him like he did was going to be a good thing in the long-run,  
Yuuri thought to himself.

“There are tigers on my wall! It’s so cool!”

“Isn’t that just swell?” Victor practically sneered in Yuuri’s direction.

“Yuri,” Yuuri began with a smile, elbowing his partner in the side before lowering himself to the child’s level. “Why don’t you look in the wardrobe?”

 

He already had so much, even Yuri could register that. However, the way the atmosphere in the room shifted (no matter how insignificant it was) made what Yuuri said all the more interesting. Curious was the little boy, already giddy at the sight of what was previously a normal guestroom, made his wander over to the wardrobe across the room, the two toys tucked into his armpits. 

A little hand grasped the doorknob and gradually pulled it open, standing on his tip toes in order to open the door without dropping his cuddly toys.

Slowly but surely, the wardrobe bore its contents to him, and he looked around to see it barren aside from the silver glimmer that caught his eye.

My, if only those untouched blades, safely shielded with the red-blue silicone guards, could have shone as brightly as Yuri’s little (but all the more expressional) face.

 

His mind completely wiped of anything and everything to fill it entirely with the shiny-black boots that he saw before him, and gasped. Not noticing he had dropped the poor cuddly toys on the rug beneath his feet, he grabbed at them.

“What are they, Yuri?”

The boy turned around, before darting towards the pair, holding his treasure high in the air.

“Skates!” he yelled before being captured in the two’s arms.

This was the one welcome-home gift both Victor and Yuuri unarguably knew their Yuri just had to have. They knew that no matter what else they got, even if they managed to do something as drastic and wild as wrangling a living tiger into that cupboard for the boy to pet at, that kid would always make a bee-line to those gleaming skates if they were an option. They could tell this by how Yuri was soon holding his pair of skates to his chest, hugging them tight.

“Are they good?” Yuuri asked as the three lowered to the ground, situating Yuri so he sat in Yuuri’s roomier (and a lot more comfortable) lap.

“They’re so cool!” Yuri said with a furious nod of the head. “They’re the best ever!”

“Do you know why we got them for you?” Yuuri asked again as he rested his chin on top of the for-once-not-protesting 5-year-old’s head.

“No?”

Victor angled his head slightly so he caught Yuri’s gaze away from his new-favourite present, a warm expression painted on his face. “Not too far away from here is a lake. Since it’s so cold here, it’s always frozen over. I—we, thought we could take you there to skate.”

“…Skate?” Yuri asked, now able to properly process thoughts after the shock of the skates cleared his mind.

“Yes.” Victor said, smiling. “We’ll take you there as often as you like – everyday, if you want – and we’ll give you proper skating lessons.”

“…Everyday?”

Yuuri bounced Yuri on his knees. “Does that sound fun?”

Yuri looked at the two, before looking at the skates, and looking at the two again. “Yeah… but…”

 

“…When would you take me back afterwards?” Yuri questioned, his eyebrow raised in confusion.

 

“Eh?” Yuuri broke through after a few seconds of silence, craning his head to look at the boy’s facial expression. “What do you mean?”

Yuri looked between their faces. “Don’t you two have to bring me back after I come home with you? Then you gotta write on those paper things to take me out again. That’s a _lot_ of work to do every day, isn’t it?”

Yuuri began with a “Yuri…” only to be interrupted.

“PFFFTT--” Victor spayed, cupping his hand to his mouth. 

“Huh?” Yuri perked up, looking up to Victor who closed his eyes in an attempt to hold in his amusement. 

“Yuri… you…” Yuuri began again, his mouth quirking up, “We… told you…” 

“What?” Yuri asked again, scrunching his nose as he saw Victor’s shoulders shake up and down.

“We said… you’d be… staying with us… we meant…” Yuuri continued, pausing every few words to take deep breaths.

“—you’d be… living with us.” Victor burst before falling into giggles.

“Huh? Living?” Yuri whipped his head around. “What do you mean?” he shot at them, irritated that they found his confusion funny.

 

“Yuri…” Yuuri said, gathering himself up, so that he did not collapse into peals of laughter like his husband. He mentally kicked himself for not properly explaining it to him, was their excitement really so extreme that they didn’t even think about the possibility that the boy wouldn’t be able to understand what they meant? “Remember when you stayed here with us for a week during the day, and we watched movies for hours, coloured, made all your favourite foods and went to skate?”

Immediately, Yuri nodded his head in sudden remembrance.

“Well, remember when we asked you a while later if you’d like to come stay with us?”

Another nod.

“When we told you that, we meant that we wanted you to come and live with us permanently.”

“Like… for a month?” Yuri asked again.

Yuuri curled a lock of blond around his finger. “Not quite… we meant that you would be living with us forever.” 

Yuri’s eyes burst. “Forever?”

“…Yes.” Yuuri said cautiously.

 

The word ‘ _forever_ ’ stapled into Yuri’s mind, and the trio sat in silence for a while, so the young boy could wrap his head around it.

“Yuri?” Victor said quietly, but the boy stayed quiet. 

Yuuri felt his hand tremble slightly. Would this not work out after all? If Yuri wasn’t ready for this kind of change, perhaps they would have to wait a little longer. After all, it wasn’t like there was a rush, it wasn’t like his was 100% legally theirs just yet. Yes, yes, if Yuri decided he wanted to wait, him and Victor could and would wait until they were grey and old. They’d wait forever, if it eventually meant Yuri could be there with them for the rest of it. Yuuri looked up to meet Victor’s glazed eyes, as if he was going through the same thought process. “Yuri…” he began, his voice wavering slightly. “The… ‘forever’ isn’t final yet. So… if you want to go back, we can--”

“Why would I want to do that?” Yuri cut through, perking the attention of the two men to his face, scrunched up even more in confusion. “I don’t want to go back.”

The two paused. “You… don’t?” Victor questioned.

“Duh, ‘course not.” Yuri said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the entire world. 

“But…”

“I thought…” Yuri began before looking down, his expression loosening. “I thought you were going to keep me for a little bit, and then take me back and go away forever.”

“Oh…” Yuuri let slip, before mentally slapping himself. So that’s why he… Oh. Oh. “No, Yuri, we would never do that.”

Victor inched in closer. “We would never go away forever.” He insisted, cupping Yuri’s cheek as his eyes blinked and begun to gloss over. 

“But…” Yuri scrunched up, his eyes now narrowing in the way they always did when he grew upset. “Why am I here, then?”

“Yuri, we want you to live here with us.” Victor repeated. “We’re… ‘writing on papers’… a lot of them.”

“A lot.” Yuuri stressed.

“So that you can come here and stay, without us ever needing to bring you back again.”

Yuri once again needed a little time to process what this would mean. They waited until Yuri’s little head bobbed up for attention.

 

“So, I get to stay in your house _forever_ and _ever_?” Yuri asked, something lingering in his eyes that was managing to be contained by his uncertainty.

“Yes.” Yuuri confirmed. The boy then looked to the other man for double the assurance.

“Yes. But if you want to keep us, it will become _your_ house now too. Would you be all right with that?”

“I…” Yuri said, the pause prompting the two to feel a creep of nerve tingle its way up their neck. However, it whimpered away quietly when the boy rubbed at his face, his lips screwed up in his pout, eyebrows furrowed. Yes, it was The Pout, all right. “Of _course_ , what kind of stupid question is that!?” he yelled, his face quickly unraveling as his eyes reddened and rare Yuri tears brimmed up.

 

“Oh, Yura.” Victor broke out, hugging Yuri from behind as the small boy shrived up into Yuuri’s chest. Yuuri allowed Yuri to grab handfuls of his shirt, rubbing his face in the material. 

“I… I want to stay here.” Yuri huffed.

“You _can_.” Yuuri said.

“I…” he said at first in reply, before deciding that simple words wouldn’t fully express how serious he was. 

 

Yuri’s brand new skates laid down, for now acting as a doorstop, so that the door to Yuri’s new room of his new home wouldn’t try to close in on them as the little family curled up on the floor in the door frame, Makkachin finding his way in to lick at the boy’s whitened knuckles. Yuri, whose mind had been cleared of everything and anything aside from the warmth of Yuuri and Victor’s embrace, hugged the pair tight; and nothing in the world could have ever, _ever_ convinced him to loosen his grip.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay... so, I REALLY wanted to get something out by Christmas. I wanted to write something more Christmasy, but I got all confused with all the different traditions, since Russians celebrate in January, but New Year is considered a more important date with Grandfather Frost and all that. So, I wrote this instead. 
> 
> I may alter it slightly, as I'm not too sure about this one (not very good with AUs), but I tried to make it as realistic as possible while also trying to keep everyone in character. For now, I'll just put it up and edit later. Since I was in such a rush, I forgot to proof read again;;  
> So if anyone can find anything that looks a bit weird, doesn't make sense or perhaps find any grammatical or punctuation mistakes, please let me know so I can fix them!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, and Happy Holidays!


End file.
